AMD responds to Woodcrest with new Opterons

Intel leaped back in front of the CPU arms race with the release of Woodcrest …

AMD today officially launched its "next-generation" Opteron processors. The new CPUs come in two flavors: Socket AM2 for the 1200 series processors, and the new Socket F for the 2200 and 8200 series CPUs. In addition to handing the new two-way and n-way Opterons, Socket F will also provide "a seamless upgrade path" for quad-core versions of the CPUs due out by mid-2007.

The nuts and bolts of the Opteron refresh are not much different than we reported last month. This is an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary step in the Opteron's development. These Rev. F CPUs will support AMD's Pacifica virtualization and Presidio security technologies. In addition, the new CPUs mark AMD's first DDR2 support in the server rack.

Along with the new CPUs comes a new processor naming system. AMD is adding an additional digit onto the familiar 1xx, 2xx, and 8xx labels. As in the old labelling system, the first digit specifies the scalability of the CPU (e.g., 1-way, 2-way, or more). For now, the second number will always be a "2" which represents the "second socket generation," according to AMD.

At the top AMD's new lineup are the 8200 SE, 2200 SE, and 1220 SE. They run at 3.0GHz and have 1MB of L2 cache per core. The 8220 and 2220 use 667MHz DDR2 while the 1220 takes 800MHz DDR2. The three CPUs have a similar Thermal Design Power: 120W for the 8220 and 2220 and 125W for the 1220. The top of AMD's lineup is expensive, too. In quantities of 1,000, the 8220 SE will sell for $2,649, the 2220 SE goes for $1,165, and the 1220 SE is $899. At the low end of the range is the 1.8GHz 2210, which costs $255.

Support for virtualization and DDR2 along with improved security features are nice additions, but the move to Rev. F Opterons is less a radical step than it is AMD's way of keeping momentum while they ready K8L. The new Socket F—along with Socket AM2—positions AMD nicely for its transition to quad-core CPUs and a 65nm fabrication process, but Rev. F Opterons on their own will likely be unable to overcome the performance lead Intel has opened up with the new Xeons.